The Importance of Mobile Responsive Websites

Mobile Responsive website

Mobile growth and the importance of responsive web design for your business

Take a look around. Notice how many people are now using mobile devices to complete everyday tasks. Mobile responsive websites have made internet browsing all the more fun.

We all know that tablets and smartphones are taking over tasks. All these tasks were previously onlypossible on a desktop computer.

The average user spends more time browsing the internet on a mobile device than a desktop. This ratio is going increasing as more people use mobile devices instead ofdesktop browsing. This mobile use extends to various other activities. These are as follows

Reading

Sending emails

Online shopping

Engaging on social media

We are atthe point now, where we can stop asking if mobile marketing is important. We knowthat it is vitally important. What does this mean for your website then? In short, it needs to be mobile-friendly. You must ensure that it is inclusive of this feature that many people still overlook.

This is only possible while designing your company’s website. In the past, you would have your website designed for use on a desktop browser.And, when needed,a separate mobile site, especially for mobile browsing, could be created.

This is no longer good enough. With the steady increase in mobile users worldwide, it is important to ensure your website issuitable for desktop and mobile use. But is there a way to do this? The answer is yes!

Responsive web design is the answer. It ensures that your website displays and functions correctly and is effective on both desktop and mobile platforms.

What exactly is Responsive Design?

Simply put, a responsive web design is unique. Designedin a way that everything appears the same regardless of the device. The content, images, and structure of the website appear the same on a desktop as it will on a mobile device. But, there are some slight differences.

Viewing a desktop-focussed site on mobile which is unresponsive is complex. You might find yourself scrolling from side to side and zooming in and out more.

On the other hand, with a responsive design, the site automatically adapts to fit the device you are using. This means you do not need a separate website specifically for mobile browsing.

A responsive design consists of a single website that retracts or expands to suit the browsing platform that the user prefers.

This is ideal for the rise of mobile use, as it ensures users can access your site comfortably. So, do not get frustrated at a site that does not work well on their mobile device of choice.

Why should my site be responsive?

There is no doubt that mobile usage is increasing. Look around you in any public space, and notice how many people are using mobile devices? Also, note whether it is a smartphone or tablet device.

We don’t seem to go anywhere without our mobile phone within arm’s reach. It is obvious that this needs a high level of consideration when designing a website. Yet many businesses seem to overlook the idea of a responsive website design.

Listen to the numbers

If you are still not yet convinced, take a look at these statistics that clearly show why mobile is so important.

Time spent on mobile increased by 7 minutes per day in 2016/17to an average total of 3 hours and 15 minutes each day. In the same timeframe, time spent on desktop browsing has decreased by a full minute. On the other hand, TV viewing decreased by 5 minutes per day.

25% of internet users in the US only access the internet via a smartphone device.

Smartphone users are spending around 10% of their time on mobile social media. It equates to over 20 minutes each day.

The time that users spend on mobile is predominantly on apps. On average, people spend 3 hours and 23 minutes per day using mobile apps. They spend only 50 minutes surfing the web on mobile.

More than 50% of smartphone users reach for their device immediately after waking up.

According to Google, 61% of mobile users are unlikely to re-visit a mobile site if they had troubling accessing it. 40% of them would rather visit a competitor’s mobile site that works.

A seamless experience across all devices is important to 83% of mobile users.

57% of mobile users will not recommend a business if its mobile site is poorly designed.

The highest add-to-cart rates for e-commerce sites occur on the tablet device and it 8.58%.

The average conversion rate for smartphones has increased 64%. This percentage is comparable to the average conversion rates on the desktop.

52% of companies are optimising their sites for mobile. You can do it by using simple templates that work across all devices. While 39% are creating mobile responsive email templates. These are the two most popular ways that companies are adapting for mobile.

As you can see, these statistics clearly demonstrate that mobile is taking over. In addition, they show why it is important to optimise your own website for mobile. People are spending more time on their mobile devices than ever before.

And it looks as though the numbers are only going to keep increasing in the years to come. Having a good mobile site can also influence your reputation and conversions. So ensure it not only looks good, but is also easy to interact with and navigate.

The benefits of mobile responsive websites

By implementing a mobile responsive website, you can expect to reap the rewards. You will not only see an increase in traffic but experience more conversions too.

Best of all, it is a lot easier to manage, while retaining a competitive edge in your industry.

Create a better user experience

User experience is another hot topic for discussion. It goes without saying that if a user has a good experience, they are much more likely to come back and refer others to do the same.

As mentioned, mobile users are not particularly keen to have to scroll around a desktop site. They zoom in and out all the time to get the information on their preferred device. A responsive design is a solution to this problem.

By having your entire site adaptable to changing devices, you will be able to please all your site visitors.

Mobile responsive websites are simply more convenient and easier to navigate. It makes for an all-around better experience.

As per Google, users sometimes get frustrated while looking for the desired content. There is a 61% chance that they will leave and look for another site that has the content they want.

But, if users have a good experience on your mobile site, they are 67% more likely to use your service or make a sale.

According to 48% of mobile site users, an ill-functioning mobile site sends a message: This company does not care about their business or their potential customers.

A good user experience also makes it much easier for users to contact with you directly. It reduces the chances of them turning to social media to complain.

Increase your conversion rates

Responsive design not only pleases users, but it also increases your conversion rates. How? Well, for a site that does not work well on mobile, any potential customers who can only use mobile will be forced to go elsewhere. Resulting in no conversions on your site.

Yet, if your site is functioning flawlessly on mobile, users are more likely to convert. With the majority of conversion occurring on tablet devices, you cannot afford for your site to be ill-equipped. Research has found that 69% of tablet users shop online using their device at least once every 30 days.

If a user needs to do more work to convert, chances are many will rather opt out of the conversion. On the other hand, developers that are creating responsive designs can adjust elements. It is all done to ensure conversion on the mobile site as they would on the desktop version.

Additionally, responsive design allows you to conduct heat-mapping as well as A/B testing. Various software options are available to assist you in segmenting your users. It determines the mobile users and how they interact with your site.

This is great for discovering new marketing strategies and sales tactics. It will be more effective with your audience and ultimately lead to more conversions.

Social media’s shift to mobile

Whether you use inbound marketing techniques like social media and content marketing or not, you do understand its importance. A social media presence can help to increase your leads.

With the rise in mobile, social media is following suit. In fact, 55% of social media consumption occurs on mobile devices. You need to ensure the content you are sharing on social media is also mobile-friendly.

As with mobile sites, if a user gets frustrated trying to engage with you on social media, they will leave and find someone else. High bounce rates lead to low conversion rates, and that is not something you want for your online presence.

Easily managed websites

It is pretty obvious that having one site to manage will be a lot easier than managing separate sites. And this applies if you have separates sites for desktop and mobile. When it comes to SEO, this means you will need two separate SEO campaigns as well.

Striving to rank only one website on search results will take some of the pressure off your SEO specialist. Responsive design also contributes positively to your SEO ranking.

Having one site is not only attractive to users, but to the team managing your website. This includes web developers and content managers. By having a single site to develop, update, and manage, a responsive design is much more cost-effective too.

Compete with other industry leaders

Staying ahead of the competition is a big deal for any business. So, to stay ahead in the internet world with mobile search and online shopping, you need a mobile-responsive website. Cater to your audience and they will reward you with conversions.

Around 85% of people believe that a company’s mobile website should be good, compared to the desktop site.

Think about the point discussed earlier, if a user doesn’t like the site they are on, they will leave and find another. All the more reason to make sure both your desktop and mobile sites is user-friendly.

Research has shown that a simple redesign of a mobile site can increase traffic, and it triples the mobile conversions rates. This demonstrates the importance of mobile design. It creates conversions and competition.

If you have not yet made your website responsive, chances are neither have your competitors. This means they could be losing out on potential customers who will soon be looking to you for their needs. So, get ahead of the curve and stay on top by introducing a responsive design.

Google’s recommendation for responsive design

Google is a big deal on the internet. With a 92% search engine market share worldwide, Google is by far the most popular search engine. So rest assured that they know what they are talking about.

Google claims that they favour responsive web design for mobile configuration. If this is the only point you take away from this article, then you have the most important point to consider. The question is: why?

It is more efficient for Google to bot crawl sites before indexing and organising all their content online. With responsive design, your site will have only one URL and HTML for all devices.

In case of separate sites for desktop and mobile, the site will have a different URL and HTML on each. It forces Google to crawl and index different versions of the same site.

With one URL, it is easier for users to share, interact and engage with the site’s content. Google also favours this.

In the case where a user shares the link to a mobile site with someone using a desktop. They will see a less than an optimal site on their desktop platform. Would you be happy viewing something sub-par?

Google knows that unhappy people find different sites, and thus bounce rates contribute to rankings. It impacts a site’s search ranking to the point where it may not even rank on mobile searches. It is also detrimental to your overall SEO, and therefore detrimental to your business.

Moving Forward

We have addressed many of the benefits of implementing a responsive web design. Mobile responsive websites work together with an increased usage of mobile online activities. It is all the more reason you need to make your website responsive.

Impress potential customers and give users a great experience on your mobile site. They will, without a doubt, reward you with engagement and conversions.

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